A vice presidential debate typically isn't a highlight of a presidential campaign. But today's match-up between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is shaping up to be a must-see event. With less than four weeks before the Nov. 6 election and most polls showing a narrowing gap between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, a tremendous amount of public interest is expected in this year's vice presidential debate. The 90-minute debate will cover domestic and foreign policy topics, such as the economy, health care reform, the war in Afghanistan, Ryan's budget and changes to entitlement programs such as Medicare. "It's going to be a real chance for the (Obama) campaign to have the fight they didn't have in the first debate," said Kelly M. Young, director of forensics at Wayne State University. "It wouldn't surprise me if they send Biden in to be the aggressive attack dog. There will be great opportunity because Paul Ryan is the more extreme version on his views about the economy and entitlements than Romney, who tries to paint himself differently."

Paul Springer, assistant professor of comparative military studies at the Air Command and Staff College, located at Maxwell Air Force Base, discusses autonomous weapons with Craig Fahle and Wayne State University's Fred Pearson, professor of political science and director WSU's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. The center will be hosting a discussion about the increasingly automated nature of military drones on Monday, Oct. 15, in the Bernath Auditorium of the Undergraduate Library.

Three studies conducted as part of Wayne State University's Systems Biology of Epilepsy Project (SBEP) could result in new types of treatment for the disease and, as a bonus, for behavioral disorders as well. The SBEP started out with funds from the President's Research Enhancement Fund and spanned neurology, neuroscience, genetics and computational biology. It since has been supported by multiple National Institutes of Health-funded grants aimed at identifying the underlying causes of epilepsy, and it is uniquely integrated within the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the Wayne State School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center. Under the guidance of Dr. Jeffrey Loeb, associate director of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics and professor of neurology, the project brings together researchers from different fields to create an interdisciplinary research program that targets the complex disease. The multifaceted program at Wayne State is like no other in the world, officials say, with two primary goals: improving clinical care and creating novel strategies for diagnosis and treatment of patients with epilepsy.

A new documentary titled "Brothers on the Line" features archival images from Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library depicting the pivotal role the Reuther brothers, Walter, Roy and Victor, played in transforming the United Auto Workers into what was for decades the nation's most powerful labor union. Victor Reuther's grandson Sasha Reuther directed and helped produce the film telling how the brothers built the U.A.W. and how that union helped raise living standards for not just one million autoworkers, but also for a large swath of America. Archival photos from the Reuther Library are included in the story.

A random trip to Walmart became a lifesaving exercise for Melanie McQueen, a Wayne State University medical student, who on Sept. 24 helped paramedics when a woman suffered a medical emergency while shopping. Thanks to her quick reaction, McQueen helped the paramedics bring back the woman's heartbeat, although faint, after a severe heart attack. It was only three days earlier that McQueen completed her advanced cardio life support training. She said she had never done CPR before. A photo of McQueen is included.

U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, announced support for the Great Lakes Commission, located in Ann Arbor, and Wayne State University to help stop the spread of invasive species in the Great Lakes. The grants come through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which is the largest investment in the health of the Great Lakes in two decades. Wayne State University will receive nearly $311,000 to evaluate the potential spread of invasive species and develop monitoring and prevention strategies.

Wayne State University's Mortuary Science Building will open its doors to the public for its annual open house from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. The event provides guided tours through the four-story building, which houses the most advanced teaching and research resources in embalming, anatomy, restorative arts, clinical laboratory science and pathologists' assistant laboratories.

The Wayne State University College of Engineering will honor seven alumni and friends for their outstanding professional achievements and service at the college's 2012 Night of the Stars Gala on Oct. 27. Night of the Stars raises money to fund student initiatives at the College of Engineering. These initiatives include scholarships for undergraduate research, study abroad and student organizations and their national/international team competitions. "We are thrilled to join College of Engineering alumni and friends at the Gem on Oct. 27 to honor these remarkable individuals," said College of Engineering Dean Farshad Fotouhi. "They have significantly impacted their organizations, their communities and this college throughout their careers, and illustrate to our students the kinds of successes that are possible in the fields of engineering and computer science."

Detroit's crime crisis is prompting such pessimism that 40 percent of residents plan to move within five years, according to a comprehensive poll of Detroiters' attitudes about their city and leadership. Residents overwhelmingly believe the city is on the wrong track and have no faith that city leaders have a plan to turn it around. Wayne State University officials wanted change four years ago - and got it through a unique program that pools resources of nearby police agencies, analyzes real-time crime data and has helped make Midtown one of the city's most thriving neighborhoods. The CompStat program, modeled after efforts in New York and Baltimore, attacks emerging crime trends, targets repeat offenders and has cut crime in the neighborhood by 38 percent, said Lyke Thompson, director of the university's Center for Urban Studies. Since the program started, rents have soared, vacancies have dwindled and investments have skyrocketed. "There's no question in my mind that the improvements in Midtown are because of the creation of a greater sense of security," said Thompson, who helps lead the effort. "We can do this citywide if we get the right people in the room - and it's important because personal safety is the first priority."

Andrew Matt has been named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The junior defensive end received the honor for his performance in last Saturday's 24-21 win against Hillsdale. He finished the day with a fumble recovery, an interception, one sack, a blocked field goal and three tackles. Last season, Matt helped WSU advance to the Division II national championship game, which was the school's first appearance ever.

Craig Fahle talked about today's Arthur L. Johnson Urban Perspectives Lecture Series at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center featuring a discussion about the Nov. 6 Presidential election. Fahle, who is moderating a panel discussion during the noon event, will be joined by Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley and Detroit News political cartoonist Henry Payne.

The 19th-ranked Wayne State University football squad (4-1 overall, 4-1 GLIAC) extended its winning streak to four games with a 24-21 home field triumph over No. 28 Hillsdale College (4-2 overall, 4-1 GLIAC) Saturday afternoon at Adams Field. It was WSU's eighth victory in its last 10 games dating back to last year's post-season run by the "Road Warriors." The Warriors raced out to a 17-0 lead in the first 18 minutes of the contest and never led by fewer than three points the rest of the way. Wayne State has a short week as the Warriors will play Thursday night at Saginaw Valley (8 p.m.) in a nationally televised game on CBS College Sports Network. Three of WSU's final four regular-season games are at Adams Field.

Kai Yang, professor of industrial and systems engineering in the College of Engineering at Wayne State University, has received a collaborative research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project, "An Allocation Model with Dynamic Updates for Balanced Workload Distribution on Patient-Centered Medical Homes." The project, funded collectively at $552,009 of which $220,009 has been allocated to Wayne State, is a collaboration with researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of Georgia. Yang is leading the project, which will focus on the Veterans Health Administration, the largest health care system in the U.S. According to Yang, the project aims to develop a comprehensive health information technology data preparation strategy that will provide health care demand and supply portfolio data.

After four games, Joique Bell has more than secured his roster spot and has become one of the Detroit Lions' most effective offensive weapons, especially late in games. With 175 yards on 12 catches (14.6-yard average), Bell was second in the league in receiving yards among running backs through Week 4, trailing only Darren Sproles of the Saints (207 yards, 23 receptions). Head coach Jim Schwartz has taken notice. "He's made plays when he's been in the game," he said. "He's made guys miss, he's gotten tough yards, he's ball-secure, he's been assignment-sound. He's done a nice job." And Bell has enjoyed his homecoming after spending time in New Orleans, Philadelphia and Indianapolis his first two seasons during which he played only special teams. "I love my Wayne State family," he said. "They've always been supportive from the time I came to Wayne State to the time I left and supported me throughout my whole career. "I'm out there doing warm-ups and I hear people saying, 'Joique Bell, Wayne State.' It feels good to know I have my alumni out there supporting me, and I support my school."

Wayne State University lecturer Saeed Khan spoke with Craig Fahle about current events in Iran and Syria.

Phyllis I. Vroom, who retired last September as dean of the School of Social Work at Wayne State University, has been named deputy president of the university. Wayne State University President Alan Gilmour has undergone 43 treatments for prostate cancer and the treatments have side effects that, at times, make it difficult for him to perform his duties. So Vroom was brought in to serve as his assistant. She will begin her new post on October 15. Vroom joined the Wayne State faculty in 1969 as an assistant professor of social work. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Wayne State and a doctorate in postsecondary and continuing education from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Silas Norman, School of Medicine associate dean for admissions , and Dr. Ananda Prasad, director of research in the School of Medicine's Division of Hematology-Oncology, were guests on a "Health Works" segment hosted by Fox 2's health reporter Deena Centofanti. They talked about the Sept. 29 Golden Gala benefit at the Detroit Marriott hotel celebrating donors who have contributed to support student scholarships and student organizations and activities.

Professor Cynthia Bir admits purposely crashing a full-size passenger plane - in the name of science - was pretty awesome. In the Bloomfield-Bloomfield Hills Patch article, Bir said: "This was probably the most fun and the coolest project to be able to be part of not only because of the production value (of the show) but to actually end up with real science was very exciting," said Bir, a professor of biomedical engineering at Wayne State University. Bir was part of a landmark experiment that for the first time, recorded what exactly happens in a catastrophic plane crash. Bir joined a team of international experts from multiple scientific fields to explore what really happens as a plane goes down, how to increase a passenger's odds of survival, and to better understand what, until now, has been virtually undocumented. As a scientist, she said it doesn't get much better than that.

An article examines the Reuther brothers' impact on the labor movement and the UAW as highlighted in 'Brothers on The Line," a documentary written, directed and produced by Sasha Reuther, grandson of Victor Reuther. Reuther said he did a significant amount of research for the film at Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library, and was shocked by the wealth of material available.

On Wednesday, Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour announced he is appointing former WSU School of Social Work dean Phyllis Vroom as deputy president to help him run the university. Vroom served as acting provost and acting president during part of 2010, before Gilmour took over as interim president and then got the job permanently. She will start Oct. 15. Vroom retired from WSU on Sept. 30, 2011. Vroom "was particularly helpful to me in my transition to president," Gilmour said. "Her calm leadership and deep understanding of the university will help us keep moving ahead." Gilmour said he consulted with the board about stepping down, but has decided to continue in his job. Board chairwoman Tina Abbott said the board was supportive of the move. "It takes a lot of courage to say, 'I'm tired,' " Abbott said. "We are very, very pleased to see Phyllis step up and help out." Board of Governors member Debbie Dingell said Vroom has the trust of the faculty, the administration, the board and "especially President Gilmour." Vroom's exact duties have yet to be defined. She said she's excited to be back and help out because she "loves this university."